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For human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordancewith The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involvinghumans: WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects.All animal experiments should comply with the U.S. Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use ofLaboratory Animals: PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. If the work was performedoutside the US, the authors must include a statement that it was conducted in compliance with the relevantguidelines for animal experiments.Appropriate consents, permissions and releases must be obtained where an author wishes to include casedetails or other personal information or images of individuals. Written consents must be retained by theauthor and copies of the consents or evidence that such consents have been obtained must be provided tothe JFS, the AAFS or Wiley upon request.SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTSJFS requirements for manuscripts are generally in accordance with the International Committee of MedicalJournal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of ScholarlyWork in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations). The ICMJE Recommendations may be found at:http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/.The following integrates the ICMJE Recommendations as they apply to the JFS with the specific requirementsof JFS.Manuscripts must be written in English and submitted via the JFS Manuscript Central site:http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jofs. Figures can be saved in a neutral data format such as TIFF, PNG or EPSwith a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Authors should not use PowerPoint or similar programs or importgraphics into Word. Scanned figures should have a resolution of 300 dpi (halftone) or 600 to 1200 dpi (linedrawings) in relation to the reproduction size. Detailed information on the submission of electronic artworkcan be found at http://authorservices.wiley.com.JFS assigns manuscripts for review without identifying the authors (to ensure blind review); therefore, thetitle page must be uploaded as a separate file (Note: The title page should NOT be included in the manuscriptfile itself). The title page should contain the title, a list of authors, each author’s highest academic degree(s),affiliation(s) including address(es), any source of funding, any disclaimers, any conflicts of interest, whetherthe information has been presented; if so, at what meeting, where and when (month/dates/year), and anyacknowledgments.The manuscript file should be double-spaced and include the manuscript title, abstract, keywords, highlights,text, references, tables, and figure legends. The abstract and keywords should be on a separate page withinthe manuscript file and should be identical to those included in the Manuscript Central submission site. Thehighlights should be on a separate page as well, after the page with the abstract and keywords. Figures mustbe uploaded as separate files on the Manuscript Central site. If the tables are complex Excel files, they shouldalso be uploaded as separate files. Supplemental Information should be included as separately uploadedfile(s) and designated as such with an appropriate header. Authors should reference the SupplementalInformation in the manuscript.The submitted manuscript should be accompanied by a cover letter, as described below, and permissions toreproduce previously published material or to use figures that may identify human subjects. Authors shouldkeep copies of everything submitted. The EIC and/or Associate Editors reserve the right to publish themanuscript in a category different from that specified by the authors upon submission of the originalmanuscript.

The cover letter should also specify, if applicable, information about possible duplicate publication, financialor other relationships that could give rise to conflicts of interest, and any other information the EIC may needto make an informed decision in accordance with established policies and practices. Copies of anypermission(s) to reproduce published material, to reproduce illustrations or report sensitive personalinformation about identifiable persons, or to name persons for their contributions must accompany themanuscript.Within the cover letter the authors may, if they wish, suggest up to three individuals who may be able toindependently and critically review the paper. The use of such reviewers is at the EIC and/or Associate Editor’sdiscretion. Authors should confirm the availability and willingness of reviewers prior to recommending themto avoid delays in the review process.The EIC and/or Associate Editors reserve the right to request explicit, written clarification of individualauthor’s roles, their concurrence in the manuscript content, or any other issue that must be resolved prior toaccepting the manuscript for peer review.JFS does not accept submissions of manuscripts from third parties without the explicit, written permission ofthe author(s).PRIOR AND DUPLICATE PUBLICATIONJFS does not consider for publication a manuscript on work that has already been reported in a publishedpaper, or that is described in a paper submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere in print or on-line.This policy does not preclude consideration of a paper that has been rejected by another journal or of acomplete report that follows publication of a preliminary report, usually in the form of an abstract. Nor doesit prevent consideration of a paper that has been presented at a scientific meeting if not published in full inproceedings or similar publication.Press reports of the meeting will not usually be considered as breaches of this rule; however, additional dataor copies of tables and illustrations should not amplify such reports.When submitting a paper, an author should always make a full statement to the EIC about all submissionsand previous reports that might be regarded as prior or duplicate publication of the same or very similarwork. Copies of such material should be included as an appendix file with the submitted paper to help theEIC decide how to deal with the matter.Multiple publication – that is, the publication more than once of the same study, irrespective of whether thewording is the same – is rarely justified. Secondary publication in another language is one possiblejustification, providing the following conditions are met: (1) the EIC(s)/Editor(s) of both journals concernedare fully informed; the EIC/Editor concerned with secondary publication should have a printed or electroniccopy of the primary version, (2) the priority of the primary publication is by a publication interval of at leasttwo weeks, (3) the paper for secondary publication is written for a different group of readers and is not simplya translated version of the primary paper; an abbreviated version will often be sufficient, (4) the secondaryversion reflects faithfully the data and interpretations of the primary version, and (5) a footnote on the titlepage of the secondary version informs readers, peers, and documenting agencies that the paper was edited,and is being published, for a national audience in parallel with a primary version based on the same data andinterpretations. A suitable footnote might read as follows: "This article is based on a study first reported inthe [title of journal, with full reference]."Multiple publication other than as defined above is unacceptable. If authors violate this rule, the EIC reservesthe right to bar them from further submissions to JFS.

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTDouble-spacing should be used throughout the manuscript, including the abstract, keywords, highlights, text,references, table legends and figure legends.In addition to the information requested above, the cover letter should indicate where the work has beenpresented at professional meetings (including meeting dates and location) and should identify any sourcesof financial support and/or potential conflicts of interest.AuthorshipAll persons designated as authors must qualify for authorship. The order of authorship should be a jointdecision of the coauthors. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take publicresponsibility for the content.Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to: a) conception and design or analysisand interpretation of data, b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, andc) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions a), b), and c) must all be met. Participation solelyin the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of theresearch group is not sufficient for authorship. Any part of an article critical to its main conclusions must bethe responsibility of at least one author.JFS may require authors to justify the assignment of authorship. Increasingly, multi-center trials or work areattributed to a corporate author. All members of the group named as authors, either in the authorshipposition below the title or in a footnote, should fully meet the criteria for authorship as defined in the ICMJERecommendations. Group members who do not meet these criteria should be listed, with their permission,under Acknowledgments (see Acknowledgments).To designate equal first co-authorship contributions, use the † symbol with the following notation: †Authorscontributed equally. Equal first co-authorship must be agreed to by the other authors of the article. First coauthors must include in their cover letter details of their contributions to the paper.Title PageJFS assigns manuscripts for review without identifying the authors; therefore, the title page must be uploadedas a separate file (Note: The title page should NOT be included in the manuscript file itself). The title pageshould contain the manuscript’s title, a list of authors, each author’s highest academic degree(s), affiliation(s)including full address(es), any source of funding, any disclaimers, any conflicts of interest, whether theinformation has been presented; if so, at what meeting, where and when (month/dates/year) and anyacknowledgments.AcknowledgmentsTo facilitate the double-blind peer review process, the acknowledgments section should be included on thetitle page. Here, specify contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as generalsupport by a department chair or acknowledgments of technical help. Persons who have contributedintellectually to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named and their functionor contribution described, for example, "scientific adviser," "critical review of study proposal," "datacollection," or "participation in clinical trial." Such persons must have given their permission to be named.The Acknowledgments header should be bolded, i.e., Acknowledgments.Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from persons acknowledged by name, becausereaders may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions. Technical help should be acknowledged ina paragraph separate from those acknowledging other contributions.Acknowledgments of financial support should appear as footnotes to the title of the paper on the title page.

Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimization can help drive usage, readership and citations of your article to raise the visibilityof your research. Whether an article is being indexed by the academic search engines is crucial; however, itis also important where an article lands in the ranked search results list as that ranking will greatly impact thevisibility of your research.Various search engines, e.g., Google Scholar and PubMed, are the principal ways that others will locate yourpublished article. Optimizing your abstract and keywords for the search engines will allow your article to bediscovered, read, used and cited in others’ work. Search engines also use the abstract and keywords to rankyour article; therefore, it is important to give extra attention to these two components when preparing asubmission. Try to include and repeat the key descriptive phrases that are relevant to your article and if youcan, imagine phrases that a researcher might search for in your paper. It is recommended to include three tofour key phrases in your abstract.To ensure your article is discoverable and to increase its visibility, it is equally important to have the correcttitle – ensure that the key phrases are included within the first 65 characters of the title, if possible, and thatthe title is unambiguous. For example in a paper on “women’s health” include women’s health and not health.More details on search engine optimization can be found at Search Engine Optimization Guidelines.AbstractThe abstract should be no more than 250 words. JFS uses unstructured abstracts; however, the abstractshould include the following – background, brief description of methods and results (give specific data andtheir statistical significance, if possible), and conclusions. Emphasize new and important aspects of the studyor observations. References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Pleasealso avoid the use of uncommon initials. The word Abstract should be in upper/lowercase letters and bolded.KeywordsAuthors should provide a minimum of six keywords or key phrases that will allow your article to be found bythe commonly used search engines. Please include the three to four key phrases from the abstract. Thekeywords should include the most important words that are relevant to your article as well as the forensicspecialty, for example forensic anthropology, facial recognition, DNA analysis/testing, interpretation of DNAmixtures, forensic entomology, forensic pathology, forensic toxicology, novel psychoactive substances, firedebris analysis, shoeprint identification, etc. If an abbreviation is commonly used, please include both theword(s) and the abbreviation, e.g., polymerase chain reaction and PCR, liquid chromatography-massspectrometry-mass spectrometry and LCMSMS.The word KEYWORDS should be in all capitals and bolded.HighlightsHighlights are important. They have been proven to broaden an article’s readership and significance, byhelping to increase the discoverability of the article via search engines.Highlights should concisely convey how your manuscript impacts forensic science, now or in the future. Theyshould describe the essence of the research and include the important methodological insights (especially ifnovel) and/or results and conclusions. It is vital to keep both your readers and your research firmly in mindas you write your highlights. Do not directly restate the abstract or summarize the main findings.Highlights are mandatory for the JFS manuscript categories bulleted below and must be provided at the timeof original manuscript submission: CommentariesCritical ReviewsPapersTechnical NotesCase Reports

Highlights should be included in your main document after the Abstract and Keywords. Please include 3 to 5bullet points (maximum 100 characters per bullet point, including spaces). Each bullet point should be a fullsentence and should outline the key contributions of your manuscript and how it impacts forensic science.The Highlights header should be in upper/lowercase letters and bolded, i.e., Highlights.TextThe text of observational and experimental articles is usually – but not necessarily – divided into sectionswith headings. JFS uses an “Introduction” heading. The introductory text begins on the first text page. Othertypical headings include Methods (or Materials and Methods), Results, and Discussion. Long articles mayneed subheadings within the sections to clarify their content, especially the Results and Discussion sections.Other types of articles, such as Case Reports, are likely to need different headings and subheadings.Generally, avoid overuse of subheadings, especially in the Methods section. Headings should be in all capsand bolded, subheadings should be in upper and lowercase and un-bolded and italicized, and sub-subheadings should be in upper and lowercase and normal text (no bold or italicize).IntroductionIn JFS, the text component of the manuscript begins with an introduction and an “Introduction” heading.State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictlypertinent references, and do not review referenced articles extensively or include data or conclusions fromthe work being reported.Materials and MethodsDescribe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (human subjects, patients or laboratoryanimals, including controls) clearly. Identify the methods, equipment (manufacturer's name and address inparentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Givereferences to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and briefdescriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantiallymodified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs andchemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. Generally, avoid theoveruse of subheadings in the Methods section. Describe the methods and materials in narrative style, notin the style of a laboratory procedure handout.Describe the data analysis methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to theoriginal data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them withappropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Methods shouldbe validated, and figures of merit provided as appropriate to the study.Avoid sole reliance on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of p values, which fails to conveyimportant quantitative information. Discuss eligibility of experimental subjects. Give details aboutrandomization. Describe the methods for and success of any blinding of observations. Report treatmentcomplications. Give numbers of observations. References for study design and statistical methods should beto standard works (with pages stated) when possible, rather than to papers in which the designs or methodswere originally reported.Put a general description of methods in the Methods section. When data are summarized in the Resultssection, specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed toexplain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with manyentries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.Avoid improperly or informally defined terms in statistics, such as "random" (which implies a randomizingdevice), "normal," "significant," "correlations," and "sample." Define statistical terms, abbreviations andmost symbols.

ResultsPresent your results in logical sequence in the text, tables and figures. Do not repeat in the text all the datain the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations.DiscussionEmphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do notrepeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Include in theDiscussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for futureresearch. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study,but avoid unqualified state

1. During submission, author(s) must acknowledge preprint server posting in the cover letter and provide the link to that posting. They must also provide any reference citations and/or DOIs. If the author(s) fail to declare that there is a preprint during the initial submission process, it may be a reason for rejection. 2.